Birds & DNA

Birds & DNA: Biodiversity and Mountain Islands

The forests of the Caucasus Mountains are being cut and their birds are at risk. These forest birds look similar to European birds, but are they really the same? If the Caucasus birds are unique species, what conservation efforts will be needed to protect them?

Bell Museum curator Bob Zink and Russian researcher Sergei Drovetski are using DNA to answer that important question. Follow their journey and discover the mysteries of hidden biodiversity halfway across the world!

Acknowledgements

Birds & DNA: Biodiversity and Mountain Islands was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation as part of research project 0919494, Testing Simultaneous Divergence of Isolated Populations in the Caucasus, awarded to Robert M. Zink (co-principal investigator Sergei Drovetski).

Location: The Bell Museum is located at the corner of University Ave. & 17th Ave. SE in Minneapolis, on the University of Minnesota campus. View a map Also, our research collections and academic curators are housed in various locations on the University's campus in St. Paul.